Joey... before your passing, I was not able to “thank you.� I want to thank you for helping me become the father I am to my daughter, the husband I am to my wife and the Marine I am to the Corps. Let me explain... Throughout my upbringing, I did not always have the best role models. I had to search long and hard for a positive mentor. Sure I had good people in my life, but so much negativity surrounded me that it would often cast a dark shadow over the few good examples that I did have. Because of this broken and uncertain road ahead, I had no confidence in my projected future and what was to become of me. Eventually, my tireless and empty handed searches led me to join the Marine Corps. In the Corps, I did finally find what I sought after; structure, clarity, honor, and a sense of belonging. It was shortly after I joined the Marine Corps that I had confronted many personal and moral questions. I found myself asking "What about Joey?" What positive role model does he have back at home? Isn’t he looking precisely where I could find none… Will he come up short the same way I did? It tore me up to know that should I decide to stay in the Marine Corps, it would prevent me from being right there in Rome so that I could personally look after my little brother; providing him with the immediate guidance an older brother could give. What was I to do? I had to weigh the pros and cons. Do I continue to pursue a career in the Marine Corps, far away from my family or do I get out of the Corps and go home. Obviously I decided to stay in the Corps. This brings me to the reasoning behind my thanking you. You see, at the time I decided to stay Marine, I began challenging myself to accomplish much more than I normally would have. I found that I was holding myself to a higher standard than what was expected of me and my peers. Soon I found that I was setting the bar high for myself in everything that I did, as a father and a husband, and life in general. This was largely as a result of attempting to impress my little brother, providing to him a great example. I wanted to show you that happiness and success requires little more than focusing on your goals and following a plan to get there! You Joey were much of the fuel that helped me stay on track; to do the right thing always; to be that ideal big brother that you could emulate. I am therefore indebted and obligated to say THANKS for bringing out the best in me. You always kept me at the top of my game! I do hope that I've lived up to, or even surpassed all of your expectations. At times I was not always the big brother you wanted, but rather the big brother you needed. I am confident that you realized that too. We had our good times you and me; I will cherish them forever in my heart. The distance between us can not be measured in miles as it has been in the past, but no matter, you have been and always will be close to me in my heart...
*Thank you little brother for looking up to me over the years and know now that it is my turn to look up at you. Stand tall at the gates of heaven and watch over us all. I don’t know how, and I don’t know when but rest assured that we will somehow meet again...